Improvement in alarm letter-boxes



2 Sheets-#Sheet 1. S. H. MORRIS.

Improvement in Atarm Letter-Boxes.

910,126,477, Patented May 7,1872.

LETTER 5B X UB 2 Sheets--Sheej 2. S. H. MORRIS.

Improvement in AlrmLetter-Boxes. No.126,477, Patented May7,1a72z SAMUEL HENRY MORRIS, OF OHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN ALARM LETTER-EOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 16,477, dated May 7, 1h72.

To all perso-ns to whom these presents may come:

Be it known that I, S'AuUEL H. MoRRrs, of Charlestown, of the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful or Improved Alarum Letter-Box 5 and do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specication and represented in the accompanying drawing, of which- Figure l is a front view, Fig. 2 a rear elevation, and Fig. 3 a transverse section of it as applied to a door. Fig. 4 is a vertical section ofthe alarum taken through the hammer and bell.

My invention maybe said to consistin a sliderod and cam and a bent arm, combined and arranged with an alarm and a letter-receivingmouth cover, or such and a letter-box, all being applied to a door or its substitute, and constructed substantially in manner and to operate as hereinafter explained; the object of the invention being to receive a letter and give notice to the occupant of a house of such reception.

In the drawing, A denotes a door or its substitute provided with an opening or mouth, a, having a cover or pivoted lid, B, which may be furnished with a lock, b, forloeking it. The opening or mouth a may lead into a chamber or box, C, fastened or applied to the inner side of the door, such chamber being furnished with a cover, e, which may also be furnished with a lock. Arranged within the chamber or box C, or fixed against the door, is an alarm, D. The said alarm consists of a spiral spring, d, an arbor, E, a gear-wheel, f, a rocker shaft, g, a tripping-pawl, h, a catch-pawl, t', a hammer, k, and a bell, l, a ratchet, m, a pawl, n, and a spring, o. The spring d is fixed at its inner end to the arbor, and at its outer end to a frame, p, which supports the operative parts of the alarm. The gear-wheel f revolves freely on the arbor, which has the ratchet-wheel m fixed to it, the pawl a and its operative spring o being applied to the wheelf. The hammer k extends from the rockshaft g, from which there also projects the tripping-pawl lL and the catclrpawl i. There also projects from the rock-shaft a bent arm, r, formed as shown, and there is extended through such bent arm a rod, s, provided with a cam, t, the said rod with its cam being guided so as to move rectilincarly or thereabout when moved endwise, the rod being pivoted to the cover B. When the cover is closed, the cam t will hold down the arm r so as 'to retain the catch pawl i in engagement with the gear- Wheel, and thereby hold the latter so as to prevent it from being revolved to operate the tripping-pand h, and thereby cause the hammer to make repeated strokes on the bell. 0n raising or opening the cover B, the cam will be drawn forward out ot' action upon the bent arm. As a consequence the-alarm will be set in operation, provided its spring be wound up, which may be done by a key applied to the arbor.

From the above it will be seen that each time the cover B may be raised by a postman to enable him to deposit a letter in the mouth of the letter-box the alarm will be sounded, and will continue to sound until the cover may be closed, thus giving notice to the inmates ot' the house of the deposit of a letter in the box or chamber. The key of the lock ofthe cover may be in the possession of the postman, while that of the lock ofthe letter-box may be held by the party to receive the letter.

Vhat I claim as my invention is- 'lhe slide-rod s and cam t and the bent arm r, combined and arranged with the alarm l) and the letter-receiving-mouth cover B, or with said cover and the letter-box C, all being applied to a doorl or its substitute, substantially in manner and to operate as described.

SAMUEL HENRY MORRIS.

Vitnesses:

R. H. EDDY, J. R. Snow. 

